Using Toulmin Argumentation to develop an Online Dispute Resolution Environment

Our goal is to model reasoning in discretionary legal domains. To do so, we use Knowledge Discovery from Database Techniques. However there are obstacles to this approach, including difficulties in generating explanations once conclusions have been inferred, difficulties associated with the collection of sufficient data from past cases and difficulties associated with integrating two vastly different paradigms. Toulmin’s treatise on the uses of argument can be gainfully employed to construct legal decision support systems in discretionary domains. We show how we can use Toulmin’s approach to build such systems with examples taken from the domains of eligibility for legal aid, evaluation of eyewitness evidence, family law, refugee law and sentencing. We then show how Toulmin Argument Structures can be developed to construct an Online Dispute Resolution environment that allows for determining BATNAs, exchanging opinions and providing advice about tradeoffs

Artificial intelligence applications in ODR: online dispute resolution: the UMCourt project

The growing use of electronic contracting urges the move of dispute resolution to online environments. Thus being, the technological element has to be considered as the “fourth party”. In this sense, software agents may well play an important role. One major issue in dispute resolution is the estimation of BATNA and of WATNA; software agents may become very useful tools in this operation, facing dispute resolution under a risk oriented approach. Having this in mind, it was developed UM COURT – based on which a concrete application, in the domain of Consumer’s Law, is presented here.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006

Managing negotiation knowledge with the goal of developing negotiation decision support systems

While Information Technology has been used to support negotiation there is little research in the domain of knowledge management in legal negotiation. In this paper we discuss the nature of negotiation knowledge and how such knowledge can be utilized to construct negotiation decision support systems. We conduct an in-depth examination of the notion of a BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and given a useful BATNA, how we can use issue and preference elicitation and compensation and trade-off strategies to provide negotiation decision support. We conclude by indicating how current negotiation support systems can be extended to support Online Dispute Resolution and haw we can extend the Family_Winner system in light of the need to more adequately manage negotiation knowledge.<br /

Conflict resolution in virtual locations

The growing use of telematic ways of communication and of the new developments of Artificial Intelligence, brought along new ways of doing business, now in an electronic format, and requiring a new legal approach. Thus, there is an obvious need for legal changes and adaptations, not only concerning a new approach of traditional legal institutes, but also concerning a need for new developments in procedural means. Transactions are now undertaken in fractions of seconds, through the telematic networks, requiring more efficient ways for solving conflicts; on the other hand, the fact that we must now consider commercial transactions totally undertaken within an electronic environment (“online transactions”) leads to an obligation of rethinking the ways of solving disputes, that will inevitably arise from electronic commerce. It is an important change already taking place, pointing out to various ways of alternative dispute resolution and, among all these ways, letting us already perceive different possibilities of using the new technologies in order to reach faster and more efficient ways (still also “fair”) of solving commercial disputes. It is a whole new evolution towards a growing use not only alternative dispute resolution, but also, towards the so-called on-line dispute resolution.The work described in this paper is included in TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006), which is a research project supported by FCT (Science & Technology Foundation), Portugal

Online dispute resolution: an artificial intelligence perspective

Litigation in court is still the main dispute resolution mode. However, given the amount and characteristics of the new disputes, mostly arising out of electronic contracting, courts are becoming slower and outdated. Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) recently emerged as a set of tools and techniques, supported by technology, aimed at facilitating conflict resolution. In this paper we present a critical evaluation on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based techniques in ODR. In order to fulfill this goal, we analyze a set of commercial providers (in this case twenty four) and some research projects (in this circumstance six). Supported by the results so far achieved, a new approach to deal with the problem of ODR is proposed, in which we take on some of the problems identified in the current state of the art in linking ODR and AI.The work described in this paper is included in TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006), which is a research project supported by FCT (Science & Technology Foundation), Portugal. The work of Davide Carneiro is also supported by a doctoral grant by FCT (SFRH/BD/64890/2009).Acknowledgments. The work described in this paper is included in TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006), which is a research project supported by FCT (Science & Technology Foundation), Portugal. The work of Davide Carneiro is also supported by a doctoral grant by FCT (SFRH/BD/64890/2009)

Bargaining in the shadow of a trial : adding notions of fairness to interest-based negotiation in legal domains

Most negotiation support systems have focused upon the notion of meeting the disputants’ interests. However in the legal domain, Alternative Dispute Resolution often occurs in the shadow of the law. Integrative bargaining neglects the vital issues of justice and power. In this article we address the issue of how to add notions of fairness to interests, through the development of the Family_Mediator system. Family_Mediator is an extension of the Family_Winner system, which advises mediators about potential trade-offs and compensation strategies for divorcing couples

Automatic classification of personal conflict styles in conflict resolution

Carneiro D., Gomes M., Novais P., Andrade F., Neves J. Automatic Classification of Personal Conflict Styles in Conflict Resolution. In Legal Knowledge and Information Systems - JURIX 2011: The Twenty-Fourth Annual Conference, Katie M. Atkinson (Ed), IOS Press - Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications, Vol. 235, ISBN 978-1-60750-980-6, pp 43-52, 2011.The use of technology to support conflict resolution is nowadays well established. Moreover, technological solutions are not only used to solve traditional conflicts but also to solve conflicts that emerge in virtual environments. Therefore, a new field of research has been developing in which the use of Artificial Intelligence techniques can significantly improve the conflict resolution process. In this paper we focus on developing conflict resolution models that are able to classify the disputant parties according to their personal conflict style. Moreover, we present a dynamic conflict resolution model that is able to use that information to adapt strategies in real time according to significant changes in the context of interaction. To do it we follow a novel approach in which an intelligent environment supports the lifecycle of the conflict resolution model with the provision of important context knowledge.The work described in this paper is included in TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial Inte lligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006), which is a research project supported by FCT (Science & Technology Foundation), Portugal. The work of Davide Carneiro is also supported by a doctoral grant by FCT (SFRH/BD/64890/2009)

Using BATNAs and WATNAs in online dispute resolution

When contracting through software agents, disputes will inevitably arise. Thus there is an urgent need to find alternatives to litigation for resolving conflicts. Methods of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) need to be considered to resolve such disputes. Having agents understanding what the dispute is about, managing all interaction between the parties and even formulating proposed solutions is an important innovation. Hence it is of the utmost relevance that the agents may be able to recognise and evaluate the facts, the position of the parties and understand all the relevant data. In many circumstances, risk management and avoidance will be a crucial point to be considered. In this sense we analyze the usefulness of a parallel concept to BATNA – Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement, that of a WATNA – Worst Alternative to Negotiated Agreement, allowing the software agents to consider the space between BATNA and WATNA as a useful element to be taken into account when making or accepting a proposal. These software agents embodied with intelligent techniques are integrated in an architecture designed to provide support to the ODR in a system we have developed for the resolution of labour disputes - UMCourt. In this context software agents are used to compute and provide the parties with the best and worst alternative to a negotiated agreement.TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006)Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Towards Computer Support for Pragma-Dialectical Argumentation Analysis

Computer tools are increasingly used to support the analysis of argumentative texts. Generic support for argumentation analysis is helpful, but catering to the requirements of specific theoretical approaches has additional advantages. Although the pragma-dialectical method of analyzing argumentative texts is widely used, no dedicated computational support tools exist. An outline is presented for the development of such tools, that starts with the formal approximation of the pragma-dialectical ideal model of a critical discussion